I wholeheartedly agree with Azure's comment in your previous post. Tell me: why is this a bad plan? One caveat: please work on a vegan version of this pie to bring with you to Hawai'i.

I noticed your plea for book recomendations. Free time for reading whole books- you know, actual novels (Harry Potter being the exception because there is always time for HP!) - has been hard to come by here, so I have no recent novels to recommend, but some tried and true standbys include:

"Girl With a Pearl Earring", "The Poisonwood Bible", "The plot Against America", "A Fine Balance", "Middlesex", "Midnight's Children", "Into Thin Air"... I'm sure I'll think of more to add as soon as I post this!

You may have read all of these already - I know you've already read my favorite, P&P. I am currently working my way through "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and I have two on deck, so to speak, that friends have lent to me: "The Inheritance of Loss" and "The Namesake".

Mmmm... looks VERY good. Yes, I'll have a slice, please. Just made banana bread, so I'll be happy to send that your way in exchange :) As a side note... Guns, grems and Steel by Jared Diamond is amazing (won a Pulitzer) and Modoc, The Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived, is simply heart warming.